PADDY McCartin's return to the St Kilda side will help rectify the Saints' recent inefficiency in attack, coach Alan Richardson says.

The Saints had plenty of chances in its 19-point win against Carlton last week but were only able to put the game away in the last quarter.

They have scored the sixth-most points in the competition but Richardson said on Friday there was room for improvement and the No.1 selection in 2014 could help with that.

"His marking's been really impressive (in the VFL) and it's been the balance of his marking. When it's time to lead and present, he's been good there, but in a contest, he's also been pretty impressive," Richardson said.

"We've played some strong footy without really capitalising on some of our dominance – the weekend's game against the Blues is a good example, 54 entries to 33 and we really didn't grab hold of the game until the last quarter. 

"We haven't been able to maximise our work in front of the ball and we think Paddy can help there."

McCartin, 21, played five straight games for Sandringham and booted 4.5 in a dominant performance against Coburg. That performance also saw him rack up 18 disposals and 14 marks, seven of which were contested.

Meanwhile, Josh Bruce was left out of the team to face Sydney on Saturday afternoon at Etihad Stadium for the first time since a shin injury kept him out of the final three rounds of 2014.

The 24-year-old former Giant has struggled for form this season. His last two weeks have yielded just 14 disposals and three goals against the Blues and Greater Western Sydney.

While his goalkicking was excellent in his breakout 2015, when he kicked 50.24, Champion Data show his accuracy has dropped significantly since then.

In 2015, his kick rating at goal was 5.2 per cent above the AFL average. That number dropped to 2.3 per cent last year, and so far in 2017, the left footer is tracking at 2.3 per cent under the AFL average.

The most memorable of those was a miss widely considered among the worst in history, when he inexplicably blew a chance inside the goalsquare against Hawthorn.

"Brucey's been quite strong for us, in terms of contest. Some of his defensive stuff has been pretty positive, but he's just not been able to finish off his work like we know he can. We just need him to go back (to Sandringham) and get his form," Richardson said.

The former Giant has also struggled in contests. The AFL average for winning one-on-one contests is 29 per cent – Bruce has won nine per cent of his contests this season.

Richardson said former captain Nick Riewoldt would spend time both up forward and on a wing, despite some concerns over the health of his right knee, which he hyperextended in round one against Melbourne.

"'Rooey' will do a bit of both this week and that's generally been the case but given that we only have two talls and Tim's (Membrey) a bit in-between (tall and small) … we'll mix it up a bit in front of the ball," Richardson said.